Photos of Meat Loaf on the Set of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975)

Meat Loaf’s performance as the wild, leather-clad ex-delivery boy Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is one of the film’s most high-energy highlights. Filmed between October and December 1974 at Bray Studios and Oakley Court in Berkshire, England, his brief time on set was filled with behind-the-scenes eccentricities and classic production history.

Meat Loaf had played Eddie (and Dr. Scott) in the 1974 Los Angeles stage production at Lou Adler’s Roxy Theatre. When 20th Century Fox greenlit the film adaptation, executive producer Lou Adler insisted on bringing Meat Loaf to the UK shoot alongside Tim Curry (Frank-N-Furter).

In the stage show, the actor playing Eddie traditionally doubled as Dr. Scott. Meat Loaf expected to play both roles in the movie as well. However, director Jim Sharman cast British actor Jonathan Adams as Dr. Scott, leaving Meat Loaf strictly with the role of Eddie. Meat Loaf later admitted he was initially disappointed by the decision, though he acknowledged Adams was great in the part. “I said you’re making a huge mistake and I still think they did, even though the actor was fine,” he said. “The way it was in the play was that Eddie and Dr. Scott really looked alike, so you knew it was his nephew and I was a really good Dr. Scott.”

For Eddie’s iconic entrance, crashing out of a freezer on a motorcycle during “Hot Phat-Pootie” / “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?,” a stunt double handled the high-speed riding inside the laboratory set. However, Meat Loaf did his own close-ups and heavy performance work while seated on the stationary bike, pushing his physical limits despite filming in freezing, unheated estate conditions at Oakley Court.

After Frank-N-Furter kills Eddie with an ice pick, Eddie’s body is later served/revealed under a glass dining table. To get authentic reactions during the dinner scene, director Jim Sharman kept the rest of the cast (including Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) in the dark about how Eddie’s corpse would be displayed. When Tim Curry pulled back the tablecloth to reveal the fake mannequin head modeled after Meat Loaf, the horror on the cast's faces was entirely real.

Despite the chaotic, freezing set conditions, Meat Loaf and Tim Curry developed a strong friendship during production. Meat Loaf frequently praised Curry’s dedication to staying in character as Frank-N-Furter, even between takes while shivering on cold soundstages.